Actress Lea Thompson to Appear at Wolf Trap for 'Back to the Future'

Go Back to the Future on Friday, June 19, when Wolf Trap and the National Symphony Orchestra present the North American premiere of the classic 1985 sci-fi comedy complete with live orchestra. Fans will have the chance to hear actress Lea Thompson, take snaps with classic DeLoreans, and be among the very first to hear composer Alan Silvestri’s newly expanded score to this unforgettable film.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of this beloved action comedy starring a young Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly, who accidentally transports himself back to 1955 using a DeLorean time machine designed by Doc (Christopher Lloyd) and unwittingly becomes the object of his teenage mother’s (Lea Thompson) affections.

The year 2015 holds an added significance, because in Back to the Future II, Marty travels forward to October 21, 2015, where he steps out of his DeLorean and into a world eerily similar to our own: Skype-like communications, flat-screen televisions, and biometrics (predictions of hover-boards and self-tying shoes have yet to be realized). Back to the Future became the highest grossing film of 1985 and launched one of the most successful franchises in Universal’s history.

Now Back to the Future takes to the road on its first tour with live orchestra. The National Symphony and NSO at Wolf Trap Festival Conductor Emil de Cou give the North American premiere of the production. To commemorate the event, Academy Award nominee Alan Silvestri composed an additional 15 minutes of music, which will be heard by a North American audience for the first time at Wolf Trap’s 7,028-seat open-air amphitheater.

An hour before the show, audience members are invited to join actress Lea Thompson and composer Alan Silvestri on the Old Farm House Lawn for a pre-performance discussion. In addition, local car enthusiasts are lending DeLoreans, which will be onsite for audience members to take photos before and after the performance.

Schedule of Activities

• BACK TO THE FUTURE, NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, EMIL DE COU, CONDUCTOR, ™ & © UNIVERSAL STUDIOS AND U-DRIVE JOINT VENTURE
• Wolf Trap’s Filene Center: 1551 Trap Road, Vienna VA
• 7 p.m. – Gates open, photo ops in front of Box Office with DeLoreans
• 7:30 p.m. – Pre-Performance Discussion with actress Lea Thompson and composer Alan Silvestri, Old Farm House Lawn
• 8:30 p.m. - Performance

Back to the Future is rated PG and the event is appropriate for families. The approximate running time for the film is 2.5 hours. The film will be shown on a high-definition screen above the Orchestra, with an additional screen on the exterior of the Filene Center for lawn patrons.

Tickets: Tickets start at $30, and may be purchased online at WolfTrap.org, by phone at 877.WOLFTRAP, or in-person at the Box Office (see Box Office Hours).